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Five appellate judges unanimously tossed former CBS News anchor Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against his former network. We’re not surprised.

It all dates back to that infamous 2004 smear of George W. Bush — timed to hurt the 43rd president’s re-election bid — that was almost immediately undone by bloggers, who discovered that it relied on clearly forged documents.

The story, built on years of research by Rather’s producer, charged that Bush had weaseled out of his Vietnam-era Texas Air National Guard service and then lied about it.

Following an independent investigation that found the documents couldn’t be substantiated, Rather read an on-air retraction — which he has since claimed was forced on him. He continues to insist the original story was true.

After retiring under duress as news anchor, Rather spent another couple of years being used sparingly at CBS before his contract was up. So he sued, charging breach of contract.

No dice, said a lower court — and now the five-judge appellate panel unanimously agrees.

Rather only has himself to blame for the fact that his CBS career ended so ignobly. Time to let it go, Dan.